Governmental regulations have placed ever increasing restrictions on the amounts and type of organic volatiles permitted to escape into the atmosphere from coatings compositions. Considerable efforts have been expended to develop coatings compositions having a minimal amount of volatile organic components and this has led to development of powder coatings, radiation curable coating and water borne coatings. In these recent developments the amounts of organic solvents present are minimal and consequently there is little or no atmospheric pollution.
A particularly well known resin used in the coatings industry is the class of urethane resins derived from epsilon-caprolactone and polyisocyanates. These polycaprolactone polyurethanes produce coating materials of exceptional and desirable properties. However, as in all major instances in the past, they have generally been applied from organic solvent solutions. Any discovery which would eliminate the organic solvent would be of great importance in the coatings industry which depends upon these materials in many manufacturing or coating operations. Consequently, any discovery, such as the one which is hereinafter described, which would serve to lower atmospheric pollution and still produce a good satisfactory coating composition would be of great importance.